Ball State University
4-0,0-0MIVA
University of Hawaii
4-1,0-0Big West
Men’s Volleyball Pulls Off 3-0 Upset Over No. 1 Hawai’i
January 29, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind.- In front of a large home crowd Saturday night in Worthen Arena, the No. 15 Ball State men's volleyball team managed to pull off the 3-0 sweep over the No. 1 team in the country and the 2021 defending national champions Hawai'i.
With the win, the Cardinals remain undefeated with a 4-0 record this season, while the Rainbow Warriors drop to a 4-1 ledger.
The win marked Ball State's first over a No. 1 ranked team since 1995 when the Cardinals upset UCLA on March 3 in three sets in Springfield, Mass.
Coach Cruz after the game said he knows how much this win means to the program and how proud he is of the team tonight?? pic.twitter.com/dhKstOf1qV
— BSU Men's Volleyball (@BallStateMVB) January 30, 2022
It was a star-studded night for Ball State as senior outside attacker Kaleb Jenness led offensively with 19 kills and a .467 hitting percentage off of 30 swings. Graduate senior Angelos Mandilaris had another great performance with 14 kills, while graduate senior setter Quinn Isaacson dished out 40 assists.
As a team, Ball State ended the night hitting .410 from the floor off 78 attacks.
It was a long three-set match with many rallies that consisted of 23 ties and eight lead changes, though Ball State was in control for most of the match.
The Cardinals used a .517 hitting percentage off 29 attempts to take set one from Hawai'i. The Rainbow Warriors struggled offensively, turning in a .194 hitting percentage of 31 attacks and only 11 kills.
After a back-and-forth first set, Ball State ran out to a 19-15 lead after a Hawai'i hitting error. The advantage then quickly grew to 23-17 that came off a kill from Jenness. The Cardinals went on to win the set 25-20.
Sets two and three mimicked each other as both teams played very close to one another. But it was the Cardinals' consistency throughout the night that carried them past the Rainbow Warriors towards the end of each frame.
Jenness and Mandilaris came through in some clutch moments allowing Ball State to take the upper hand over Hawai'i.
All-in-all, it was a great team effort for the Cardinals tonight, turning in an impressive performance over a team they haven't defeated since Jan. 13, 2011.
The No. 15 Ball State men's volleyball team and No. 1 Hawai'i will face off yet again on Monday, Jan. 31 in Worthen Arena. First serve is at 7 p.m. ET.
